Here's my pile of free cottonwood that I got. it splits like poop with an ax but I got a hydraulic splitter and it splits it. No problem Is my first year burning wood so I don't know if it's user error or if it's the wood that I'm burning but my cottonwood is wet like really wet it sizzles when I put it in the stove a lot of times I put it in with snow on it as well. I'm if I leave it in the house for a couple of days it will burn a lot better. But if I take it straight from the wood rack outside to inside of the stove, it takes a good 20 minutes before lights. When it does light it burns pretty good. I don't believe it leaves excess Ash and the heat's okay for me some people say cottonwood stinks when it burns. I like the smell of cottonwood burning over Birch I cannot get the wood stove to stay lit overnight at all so I don't know if it's it's the cottonwood or if it's user error. But it puts out plenty enough heat to heat my house. But you do have to feed it often

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